Financial Literacy

Dollars and sense

Debit Card Fraud Protection Tips for College Students

Many college students rely on the use of their debit cards to make purchases without knowing much about debit card fraud protection. In fact, a debit card may be way riskier than having a credit card or using cash...

Financial Literacy for College Students

Types of Cyber Security Threats to College Students

Young and Eager to Build Your Credit Score? Here Are Five Ways to Do So.

How to ID a Phishing Attack

Online scams are everywhere and can be hard to avoid. This article covers the basics for spotting phishing attacks via email and social media and what you can do to defend your personal information and stay safe.

How Your Privacy (Or Lack Thereof!) Affects Your Digital Identity

In an attempt to help prospective students and upcoming graduates create an authentic online reputation, we’re discussing how your digital identity can make a difference when applying to a school, internship, or future career.

5 Ways to Avoid Being a Broke College Student

Here are our top tips to help you avoid being broke in college while instilling positive personal financial habits—many of which will benefit you for years to come.

Identity Theft Protection Tips for College Students

As former President Bill Clinton stated, financial literacy is simply “a very fancy term for saying spend it smart, don't blow it, save what you can and know how the economy works.”...

7 Reasons Why Financial Literacy Should Be Learned at a Young Age

As former President Bill Clinton stated, financial literacy is simply “a very fancy term for saying spend it smart, don't blow it, save what you can and know how the economy works.”...

What You Need to Know About Paying for College

Stressed by the thought of paying for college? Try this easy checklist to pay for college in 2018-2019.

10 Ideas for Saving As a Family (There’s Power in Numbers!)

Saving for a future goal -- here are 10 tips to make saving as a group fun and effective.

7 Sure-Fire Ways to Save Extra Money (Even If You Don’t Have It!)

Don’t think you have any extra money? Well, think again. We’ll give you 7 ways to save extra money you didn’t even know you had.

How to Start Saving for Retirement (Even if You Haven’t Even Graduated College Yet!)

The sooner you start stockpiling spare cash, the more your retirement savings could compound by the time you’re ready to stop working.

5 Ways to Save For Rainy Days (Even on a Student Budget)

Americans had less than $1,000 in their banking accounts, according to a 2017 survey. What’s worse, 39% had no sa [...]

3 Ways Students Can Save for the Future Automatically (It’s Easier Than You Think!)

Ever dream of saving money for college or your future without even having to think about it? Just choose one or more of these savings kick-starters...

4 Ways to Save with a Plan and Make College Affordable (It’s Never Too Late to Start!)

In honor of America Saves Week, here are four ways to jumpstart your short-term savings plan and take some of the sting out of paying for school.

Expert Q&A: What is the true cost of college?

Our expert panel explains how the sticker price of college and your expected family contribution (EFC) can play a part in deciding which school to attend.

Expert Q&A: Will my career be worth my college investment?

Why is it important to consider you future career plans when deciding how much to invest in college? Find out in this expert Q&A video.

How to become a financially independent college student

Find out how to handle your personal finances in college to become financially independent sooner rather than later.

How to save money in college

Saving money in college can be challenging, but it's not impossible. Find out how to save money in college with these tips.

6 ways to get cheap textbooks

Before spending money on a book you only use once, check out these six ways to find cheap textbooks for your college courses.

How to teach your child financial literacy

A financial education is necessary to help your child become a fiscally responsible adult. Here's how to do it.

Public vs. private colleges: which is better?

Private colleges cost more than public colleges, but does that mean the education is worth more? A recent analysis says probably not.

The 10 highest- and lowest-earning college majors

Money doesn't buy happiness, but it can pay your student loans. Here are the 10 highest- and lowest-earning college majors.

Is the lack of financial education leading to a rise in the student loan default rate?

Learn why students need to become more financially literate

Net Price Calculators: What will college really cost?

And can you trust what the calculators have to say?

Make Easy Cash On Your Own Time

How to make some extra cash while you're in college.

Most Young Adults Lacking Personal Finance Information

College is a great place to learn practical financial skills. It is often the first chance for young adults to make significant financial decisions. College allows real life experience in budgeting money, spending money, and everything else necess [...]

What I Wish I'd Known About My College Budget

Since higher ed often comes with a hefty price tag, a lot of students start wishing-they-woulda once those educational loan bills arrive in the mail. Here, a few undergrads impart wisdom and warnings about all things financial in college.

Budget Student's Guide to College Textbooks

Buying textbooks is becoming more and more painful, and prices aren’t going to improve anytime soon. Fortunately, there are some simple ways to dramatically reduce the price you pay. But students don't always know how easy it can be to save on boo [...]

Full-Ride Realities

Athletic Recruiting

Best Apps and Sites for Forgetting How Broke You Are

Most college students are struggling to stay financially afloat, use these tips to help save

Why a Prepaid Card is the Smart Choice for Any Student

Every student needs to take a close look at how they manage their finances. All too often students fall into trouble with credit cards or even debit cards.

5 Little-Known Tips for College

There are a few things we think you should know before you start college.

College Textbook Buying Mistakes

It’s tempting to go all-out with your (or your parents') credit card at the campus bookstore. But when you’re hit with a $600 bill for textbooks, that spring break trip you'd been thinking about to suddently starts to look a lot less attainable. W [...]

New Income-Based Repayment Plan for Federal Student Loans

Income-Based Repayment (IBR) is a new way to make your federal student loan payments more manageable. And if you're a teacher or work in government or at a nonprofit (501(c)(3)) organization, you might qualify for a new type of public service loan [...]

Before Your Student Leaves for College: Help build money management skills

New college students have a lot to learn about life on their own. Simultaneously, they are facing many challenges as they adjust to new lifestyles and campus patterns of living and learning. Many college freshmen—indeed, some transfer students as [...]

Textbook Rentals and Used Textbooks

You already know how expensive college textbooks can be. But buck up, because we have some loopholes for you! There are several ways to access course materials other than through your campus bookstore, and these alternatives often don’t require sh [...]

Finding Free Stuff on Campus

Borrowing for College: Exercising financial responsibility

I graduated from business school in 1983 with what at the time seemed like an inordinate amount of debt. When I started the MBA program I had little savings to pay for my two years of additional education, having spent the time between college an [...]

Paying for College: Advice for parents

Did you ever think we would long for the good old days when getting our sons or daughters into college was the top preoccupation that kept parents of high school juniors and seniors up at night? With balances in college funds falling by double di [...]

Is Graduate School Worth the Cost?

With the grim economic outlook and a job market steeped in uncertainty, is graduate school the next phase in your career or are you better off taking your undergrad degree and grabbing the first job offer that comes your way?

Let Facecard Handle Your Finances

As a student, you’ve got enough to worry about. We’re here to make your life easier.

Used Textbooks Buyback: Don’t get ripped off

Second semester of freshman year had just started, and I was about to get a lump sum of weekend spending money. At least that’s what I thought as I eagerly waited in the book buyback line in the campus store, fingers red from holding a stack of 6 [...]

Beyond Tuition: Managing your college expenses

Congratulations, you've decided to go to college! You've dealt with the applications. You've applied for financial aid. Now, how are you going to pay for everything else? Whether you're just looking for some extra pocket change or a way to afford [...]

6 Money-Saving College Textbook Tips for Freshmen

Textbook prices commonly evoke looks of disbelief from incoming college freshmen. $135 for a pre-calculus text and $65 for the supplement? Don’t have $600 to drop on books your first semester? By doing a little research, you can save the equivalen [...]

Student Loan Consolidation: The Inside Scoop

If you've graduated from college, you've probably gotten plenty of offers to "consolidate" your student loans. How can you discern trustworthy lenders from those just trying to make a profit off of you?

Budget Student's Guide to Life After College

When you reach the end of your college career, your path once again opens in front of you. Many low- and middle-income students feel pressured to immediately get a job in order to help support their family and to begin paying off their debt. But t [...]

Find ways to pay for college

There are several ways to pay for college, even if you don’t think you can afford tuition.

Budget Student's Guide to Academics

Depending on your educational history, you may or may not feel that you are as academically prepared for college work as your peers. Some people come into college having been trained by top-notch private or magnet schools and are instantly ready t [...]

Getting More for Less in College

It’s no big secret that college is expensive. Despite the mounting costs of tuition and living fees, college students don’t want to live the life of the stereotypical starving undergrad. They want to be able to go to concerts and restaurants, own [...]

Getting Cash for College

As a student who’s on a budget, you’ve probably given some thought to how you’ll acquire extra spending money. Financial aid and scholarships may cover the major expenses like tuition and housing, but in all likelihood you’ll want some extra cash [...]

Budget Student's Guide to Financial Aid

The forms, applications, and documents that are required by financial aid offices can seem endless, and the process at times impossible. And unfortunately, it is something you get to deal with every year during school. When your frustration level [...]

Building Good Credit: Start small and start early

When you’re young, it’s easy to forget about that shadowy little concept known as credit. Unpaid bills and outstanding credit card statements may seem like something to shrug off, but they can quickly creep up and put a stain on your credit that w [...]

Thrifty Shopping: Where to buy what you need

Budget Student's Guide to Choosing a Major

Finances will likely play a role in the individual classes you choose and the major (and potential future plans) around which you organize your efforts and interests. Here are a couple of things to consider when deciding between underwater basket [...]

Budget Student's Guide to Looking for and Choosing a College

When planning out your college-on-a-budget school search, a number of factors come into play.

Budget Student's Guide to Admissions

Budget-conscious students face unique challenges when it comes to the admissions game. But this also gives them unique opportunities to stand out from their more moneyed peers, with tales of hard work and obstacles overcome that pique admission of [...]

Where to Work-Study

If you weren’t lucky enough to get a huge scholarship or to have been born the child of an oil tycoon, there’s a good chance that you’ll be paying for your education, at least partially, with financial aid.

Mind Over Money: Getting your college budget together

You’ve got the laundry part down, and you’ve mastered the art of getting a pizza to your dorm room at 1 a.m. But that’s not all it’s going to take to live on your own—one of the most critical parts of the college transition is figuring out how to [...]

Cash for College: How to get scholarships

Most students and parents are under the impression that you need to either be an Olympic-caliber athlete or have perfect test scores and grades to qualify for some free money, but that’s not necessarily the case. With proper planning, research, an [...]

Financial First Aid: Paying for college painlessly

By New Year’s Day, the dust has settled on the mad rush of test taking, essay proofing, and recommendation-letter gathering necessary to the college application process. Yet the savviest students are still at work, attending info sessions, collect [...]

How to Squeeze Cash Out of Your School

Let’s be honest with ourselves for a minute: college is a rip-off. There, I said it. It seems completely uncalled for, cruel even, for colleges to charge students upwards of $40K a year for the privilege of attending their fine institutions of hig [...]

The Hidden Costs of College

So, you and your family have just paid your gazillion-dollar tuition. All done, right? Think you can rest easy? Well, in the words of former Harvard President Johnny Moneybags, “You’re just getting started, buddy!”

Apply for Free: How to Get College Application Fees Waived

College and SAT application fees can quickly add up to hundreds of dollars. What most high school seniors don’t know is that there’s a way to avoid these costs.

Financial Literacy

Dollars and sense

Scholarships